Phantom Gourmet: Mad Martha's Island Cafe
NEWBURY (CBS) -- Just steps from the Atlantic Ocean on Plum Island in Newbury is a little sea-side shack.
Mad Martha's Island Cafe isn't just another restaurant though, it is serving up unique spin-offs on favorites.
"From the outside, it's easy to drive past us. We're a house that has been converted to a restaurant."
Kendall Bowie and Kyree Gerson are the dynamic duo behind Mad Martha's. Ever since they bought this breakfast and lunch spot about six years ago, they've made it their mission that customers are always comfortable.
"It's a really funky atmosphere when you walk inside, there's paintings on the wall, there's people laughing, it's noisy, in a good way, it's full of energy and a lot of excitement," said Bowie.
And the food here goes way beyond your standard breakfast fare.
"We try to take something that you're familiar with and put a bit of a twist on it," she continued.
So the French toast is smothered in caramelized bananas, the egg sandwich is stacked with gourmet ingredients and even a simple fruit bowl is simply sensational.
"We try to have the most fresh ingredients, as local as we can get them, we try to reinvent the wheel, I guess you could say, for breakfast," Bowie said.
And it's all made in Mad Martha's open kitchen, where Kyree and her crew work in very close quarters. "[We] certainly bump into each other, but we've gotten pretty good at it."
And be forewarned: it is cramped in the dining room too.
Gerson said, "It's very intimate, as you can see the tables are really tightly put together, so we're cruising in between them."
And since there are just 36 seats at Mad Martha's, there's often a wait for a table, but customers never seem to mind.
"When we run a long wait on the weekends, people are encouraged to take a cup of coffee, head down the beach access path, take a stroll on the beach, and just really take it all in. It's an experience when you come here, it's not just about breakfast, it's about the whole thing," said Gerson.
